Brett Kavanaugh set to be confirmed to supreme court in major win for Trump

• Latest: Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to US supreme court
• Final floor vote on Saturday expected to fall along party lines
  
• Kavanaugh’s confirmation to tilt supreme court rightwards

Judge Brett Kavanaugh was set to be confirmed as a US supreme court justice on Saturday, handing Donald Trump a major victory after weeks of shocking allegations, rage-fuelled hearings and rancorous protests that have further divided America.

The final vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, which was poised to fall almost entirely along party lines in the afternoon, would confirm Kavanaugh to the lifelong position – and tilt America’s highest court in a conservative direction for decades.